The Dark Warrior by Kugane Maruyama

making it look like a spiderweb covered in water droplets. A large black crystal was set in its center, about where the wearer’s forehead would be.
    “That’s—” The man’s eyes opened wide. He’d seen one once from a distance, so there was no way he would mistake it. “—the sign of a shrine princess, a Crown of Wisdom—one of the Slane Theocracy’s greatest treasures!”
    “Yup! A cute little girl was wearing this, but it wasn’t her style, so I did her a favor and stole it. And then—what a surprise! She went crazy! Pooping and peeing all over the place!” The woman cackled.
    She was formerly with the Black Scripture, so there was no way she didn’t know what would happen when she removed the Crown of Wisdom from its wearer—one of the shrine princesses, who play key roles in the magic ceremonies the Slane Theocracy performs. When it was time for a new princess to be crowned, sending the one driven insane by the removal of her crown to be with the gods was the Black Scripture’s job.
    “I mean, there was nothing I could do. There’s no other way to take it! It’s the guy who made ’em’s fault! Can’t believe he got away with that.”
    There was no way to safely remove a Crown of Wisdom; the only option was to destroy it. But a Crown of Wisdom transformed a human being into nothing but a font of super-high-tier magic by sealing off their sense of self; it would be a waste to destroy a sacred treasure like that.
    And so, crazy people.
    “Hmph. I can’t believe you betrayed the Black Scripture to steal such a piece of junk. If you were gonna do that, you could have at least stolen one of the sacred treasures left by the Six Gods!”
    “‘Junk’? That’s a bit harsh!” She puffed up her cheeks to pout in a contrived way, and the man sneered at her.
    “Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s junk. The girls who can use that thing are one in a million. You can’t even begin to look for someone to use it unless you’re a nation, like the Slane Theocracy.”
    The Slane Theocracy was the only country in the area that had a registry of inhabitants. That’s how they were able to find the ones who could use the crowns—the sacrifices. Without that kind of system, it would be incredibly difficult to search for them, even with the power of Zurrernorn.
    “Plus, how am I supposed to steal a sacred treasure? The Black Scripture’s strongest monster, with beyond otherworldly powers—the atavistic son of a bitch said to have blood of the gods in him—is guarding them!”
    “That demigod…? Are they really that strong? I’ve only ever heard of them from you.”
    “Oh, man, they’re on a whole ’nother level! But I guess you wouldn’t know because the info is so locked down. Being brainwashed into spilling the beans would mean big trouble, too. I wish there were more info, but they say if word got out, the whole theocracy would get swept up in a war with the remaining true dragonlords and get wiped off the map.”
    “…I highly doubt that.”
    The woman’s tone suddenly changed. “Yeah, I guess you would if you hadn’t seen his power… Anyhow, to get back to my point, Khajit Dale Badantel… We’re both one of the twelve leaders. Let’s work together.”
    “Oh? Is this a peek at the true you? One of the Quintias? But leave out the Dale. I don’t use that name anymore.”
    “Only if you cut out the ‘one of the Quintias’ stuff. Just call me Clementine!”
    “…Clementine, then. What’s this about working together?”
    “There’s someone in this city with a wonderful talent, right? I bet he could use this item.”
    “…Ah. I’ve heard the rumors. But surely you can kidnap a single person on your own?”
    “Well, yeah! But while I’m at it, I want to cause a big commotion.”
    “To escape during the confusion? I see…”
    “So, I thought, what if I said I’d help out with your ritual? Not a bad offer, right?”
    Khajit’s eyes narrowed and a superbly evil smile spread across his